A key objective of our actions in Iran – other than ridding Iranians and the rest of the world of its murderous theocracy, of course – is making it safe for oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
To that end…according to an unbylined article at Reuters:
The U.S. military “eliminated” 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement, as President Donald Trump warned that any mines laid in the Strait by Iran must be removed immediately.
Trump previously said the U.S. had “completely destroyed” 10 inactive mine-laying vessels.
In apparent response to media reports that Iran had begun laying mines in the waterway, a key passage for oil shipments, Trump posted on Truth Social: “If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!”
Iran has virtually no navy left. Virtually no air force. Many of its missile launchers have been destroyed or incapacitated, with limited, if any, ability to reconstruct them. It has to be running out of missiles – as indicated by the estimates that missile attacks are down almost 90% from the beginning of our action.
If we make the Strait of Hormuz safe – and take over Kargh Island, where almost all of Iran’s oil exports are sent from – what is left? What power would Iran have to do a thing against the United States, Israel…and virtually all the Arab Persian Gulf nations it has alienated by hitting them with missiles as well?
I’m no military expert. But it sure looks to my untrained eye that the objectives of stopping Iran in its tracks and making the situation as ripe as possible for the people there to get rid of the murderous who have been in power since 1979 are pretty close to being met.
The wild card in this, it should be noted however, is China – which buys a huge amount of oil from Iran and would certainly be affected by a Kargh Islsnd takeover. More on that if – as – it develops.
